‘The Stratford Upon Avon & Midland Junction Railway’ (or S.M.J.) was a small independent railway company which ran a line across the empty, untouched centre of England. It visited the counties of Northamptonshire, Warwickshire, Oxfordshire and a little of Buckinghamshire, only existing as the SMJ from 1909 to 1923. In 1923 the S.M.J.became a minor arm of the London Midland and Scottish (L.M.S.), then in 1948 'British Railways'

I have just noticed that Byfield and Blakesly station buildings look identical and also Morton Pinkney looks similar. Was it a standard design? Also can any one tell me where i might be able to find a photo of the non platform side i.e. entrance.…Continue

HiI’ve just purchased the book « Track layout diagrams of the Great Western Railway and B.R. (W.R.) section 29” by R.A.Cooke and notice that on page 29/9 concerning Fenny Compton, he mentions a goods shed at the end of the exchange sidings as…Continue

For those interested in the Train Simulator 2014 side of life... I've begun modelling the SMJ railway in the route creator/editor, using terrain from imported Google Earth and imagery of the line from the SMJ days. As you'd expect, the route is…Continue

I see an advert for Volume 1 of Barry Taylor's SMJ history in RM. Apparently it will cover the E&WJR and N&BJR period pre SMJ and is being published by Black Dwarf mid-August, cost &25 plus p.p.Continue

"Thank you Dick - that's a great review!
It will be interesting to see what the various magazine reviews are like, but for me the most important are the ones from those that "know" the SMJ like yourself and others on this…"

"Have only just got hold of a copy. Barry has done a superlative job of covering the early days of the line. There are lots of 'new' photos and the familiar ones are reproduced better than in previous publications and on quality…"

"Yes, they are of a standard design. There were drawings and photos, as well as how to construct a 4mm Scale model, in the Railway Modeller in the late 60s/early 70s. Do not have the reference to hand.
Also, have a look at Si Donald's blog:…"

I have just noticed that Byfield and Blakesly station buildings look identical and also Morton Pinkney looks similar. Was it a standard design? Also can any one tell me where i might be able to find a photo of the non platform side i.e. entrance.…See More

"Hi John, really glad you took the risk to climb the post for this photo.It's fantastic! I was born in Byfield in 1960 and lived there for 24 years, ( my mum still does). I have recently been toying with the idea of building a model of Byfield…"